Adreian Wilson brings depth to Patriots secondary

Adrian Wilson is 33 and has spent 13 years working in the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals released the highly decorated safety in March, believing the warning light on his tank had come on.

Wilson, a five-time Pro Bowler and member of the exclusive 20-sack/20-interception fraternity, was a free agent for a week before signing a three-year, $5 million deal with the Patriots. So far, so good.

“Adrian has done a good job,” coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday, the day before cancelling the third and final session of minicamp. “He’s worked hard, very professional. He has a real good attitude; has a lot of experience. We’ll see how the rest of it plays out.”

There’s a belief Wilson is no longer a three-down player. He remains capable against the run, but is a detriment in passing situations.

However, there is no debating his leadership skills. He doesn’t appear to be as fiery as Rodney Harrison, but does have a certain air about him that commands respect.

“The way he carries himself, the way he goes about his job (is impressive),” Belichick said. “Works hard, smart guy, he’s experienced. He’s really tried to learn and buy into our program and do everything he can to find a way to contribute. I think he’s very well respected.”

Wilson has more experience than the combined total of Devin McCourty (4 years) and Steve Gregory (8), the only other veterans among the seven safeties on the 90-man roster. But they’ve helped him as much as he has helped them.

“Guys have been in the system, so they’re making it easy on me,” Wilson said. “They know the system and just being in the classroom and being able to sit beside Steve and Devin, those guys know the playbook. So it’s nice being able to ask questions of them and not put too much pressure on the coach.”

Tom Brady, who entered the NFL in 2000 — yeah, it was that long ago — said last month he had never felt better throwing the football. He delivered a similar message during minicamp.

“I feel great, I feel better than ever,” Brady said. “I’ve had a great offseason to this point; it needs to continue. At this point, I have a pretty good understanding of how I need to prepare myself, and I spend a lot of time, every decision in my life is based around how to be a better football player. I think I have a decent idea how to do that, and we’ll ultimately see how it pays off this year.

“It’s been fun to be out there every day at practice and that’s how you improve, is to be out on the practice field, especially with a bunch of new players. We’ll see how it turns out when we put the pads on.”

Brady will turn 36 in August and remains on course to reach one of his oft-stated goals of playing until he’s 40. One benefit and/or concession to getting older is efficiency with the use of his time.

“Things that you probably have tried in the past, you don’t do much anymore,” Brady said. “You try to do the things that you feel work and the things that help you improve.”

Here’s your daily dose of Tim Tebow.

The third-string quarterback’s two-year contract comes with base salaries of $630,000 this season and $730,000 next season, when he can also pick up a $25,000 workout bonus. None of the money is guaranteed.

It was also reported Tebow could earn $2 million in 2014 if he’s involved in at least 80 percent of the offensive snaps and the Patriots win 10 games or make the playoffs.

The Patriots have won 10-plus games for 10 straight seasons and made the playoffs 10 of the past 12 years, so that’s doable. As for all that playing time, dream on.